Exploring Robotics (Incredible ED-E)

Description

Who is ED-E? ED-E is a humanoid robot with 17 servo’s and a variety of exciting pre-programmed moves. ED-E comes fully assembled and be controlled either directly using a hand held control or via a computer interface. Students can write and edit programs using the ED-E graphical programming software.

The program is very intuitive to use and with ED-E directly connected to the computer students can move ED-E on the screen and see the actual model react in real time.

Because ED-E is a humanoid he can replicate human movement and human tasks. Challenging students with recreating these movements allows them to see firsthand the physics and biology of our own motion. The limitations and advantages of machines become apparent in these familiar situations.

Students work in pairs to adopt two different roles. One is the programmer and the other is the designer. It is the programmer’s job to program ED-E and the designer comes up with solutions and ideas for the programmer to implement. The designer also has the job of looking after the actual robot. This involves ‘spotting’ ED-E whilst it operates so it doesn’t fall over. This protects the robot but also lets the designer see exactly what parts of a program ED-E might be struggling to execute.

For shorter programs students can experiment with routines and programs that are already built into the model. By editing smaller parts of a larger program they get a feel for how a larger program might be structured together whilst still getting feedback from their own inputs. Many challenges, such as optimizing a task by removing unnecessary commands or adapting a program to a similar task, can be completed when time is a consideration.

Example Tasks

ED-E comes pre-assembled and we have already loaded programs that students can play with. Students can try and edit and optimize these programs or modify them to adapt to new tasks. Trying to increase the length of ED-E’s walk without him falling over might make complete tasks quicker but may also make him unstable, or stringing together multiple programs to create a dance routine is another possibility.

Advanced Challenges

For full day incursions students can start by looking at existing programs but also have the option of writing entire sequences from scratch. This allows them to implement original solutions and become more familiar with programming robotics.

Suitable for:

year 5

year 6

year 7

year 8

year 9

year 10

year 11

year 12

Curriculum:

All our incursions are compliant with the Australian Curriculum, and we are constantly seeking out new and exciting technologies and advancements to continue to be industry leaders in providing relevant and stimulating material.

Pre-activities available

Post-activities available

Dates & Times:

Incursion Duration: 2.5 hours

Group Size: 20 (min) to 30 (max)

More information:

Costs: $30 (Inc. GST) per student

All workshops are charged per student per hour and GST can be claimed back. Additional costs may apply depending on the workshop. For most incursions we travel in a motorhome and provide all the equipment, a surcharge may apply for large travel distances. This surcharge can be avoided by networking with other schools in your region and involving them so that we can stay in an area for a longer period of time. Minimum charges apply for all incursions.

Additional requirements for this incursion: Access to power to recharge the models and pc’s during breaks.